SECTION LII
"Vaisampayana said, 'After this, Krishna ordered Daruka, saying--Let my
car be yoked.--Within a very short space of time Daruka informed (his
master), saying,--It has been yoked.--The son of Pandu then commanded all
his attendants, saying,--Prepare yourselves and be ready. We shall repair
to-day to the city named after the elephant. Thus addressed, O king,
those troops accoutred themselves, and informed Pritha's son of
immeasurable energy, saying,--Everything is equipt. Then those two, viz.,
Krishna and the son of Pandu, ascended their car and proceeded on the
journey, the loving friends engaged the while in delightful conversation.
Unto Vasudeva seated on the car, Dhananjaya of great energy once more
said these words, O chief of Bharata's race!--O perpetuator of the
Vrishni race, the king has obtained victory through thy grace. All his
foes have been slain, and he has recovered his kingdom without a thorn in
it (to make it disagreeable). O slayer of Madhu, through thee the
Pandavas are endued with a powerful protector. Having obtained thee for
our raft we have crossed the Kuru ocean. O thou that hast this universe
for thy handiwork, salutations to thee, O Soul of the universe, O best of
all beings in the universe. I know thee in that measure in which I am
approved by thee.[165] O slayer of Madhu, the soul of every creature is
always born of thy energy. Playful sport (in the from of creation,
preservation, and destruction) is thine. Earth and sky, O lord, are thy
illusion. This whole universe, consisting of mobile and immobile objects,
is established on thee. Thou createst, by modification, the four orders
of Being (viz., viviparous, oviparous, filth-born, and vegetables). Thou
createst the Earth, the Welkin, and Heaven, O slayer of Madhu. The
stainless lunar light is thy smile. The seasons are thy senses. The
ever-moving wind is thy breath, and death, existing eternally, is thy
wrath. In thy grace is the goddess of prosperity. Verily, Sree is always
established in thee, O thou of the highest intelligence. Thou art the
sport (in which creatures engage); thou art their contentment; thou their
intelligence, thou their forgiveness, thou their inclinations, thou their
beauty. Thou art the universe with its mobile and immobile objects. At
the end of the cycle, it is thou, O sinless one, that art called
destruction. I am incapable of reciting all thy qualities in course of
even a long period. Thou art the Soul and the Supreme Soul. I bow to
thee, O thou of eyes like the petals of the lotus. O thou that art
irresistible, I have learnt it from Narada and Devala and the Island-born
(Vyasa), and the Kuru grandsire also, that all this (universe) rests on
thee. Thou art the one Lord of all creatures. This, O sinless one, that
thou hast declared unto me in consequence of thy favour for myself, I
shall duly accomplish in its entirety, O Janarddana. Exceedingly
wonderful is this which thou hast done from desire of doing what is
agreeable to us, viz., the destruction in battle of the Kaurava (prince),
the son of Dhritarashtra. Thai host had been burnt by thee which I
(subsequently) vanquished in battle. That feat was achieved by thee in
consequence of which victory became mine. By the power of thy
intelligence was shown the means by which was duly affected the
destruction of Duryodhana in battle, as also of Karna, as of the sinful
icing of the Sindhus; and Bhurisravas. I shall accomplish all that which,
O son of Devaki, pleased with me thou hast declared to myself. I do not
entertain any scruple in this. Repairing to king Yudhishthira of
righteous soul, I shall, O sinless one, urge him to dismiss thee, O thou
that art conversant with every duty. O lord, thy departure for Dwaraka
meets with my approbation. Thou shalt soon see my maternal uncle, O
Janarddana. Thou shalt also see the irresistible Valadeva and other
chiefs of the Vrishni race.--Thus conversing with each other, the two
reached the city named after the elephant. They then, with cheerful
hearts, and without any anxiety, entered the palace of Dhritarashtra
which resembled the mansion of Sakra. They then saw, O monarch, king
Dhritarashtra, and Vidura of great intelligence, and king Yudhishthira
and the irresistible Bhimasena, and the two sons of Madri by Pandu; and
the unvanquished Yuyatsu, seated before Dhritarashtra and Gandhari of
great wisdom, and Pritha, and the beautiful Krishna, and the other ladies
of Bharata's race with Subhadra counting first. They also saw all those
ladies that used to wait upon Gandhari. Then approaching king
Dhritarashtra, those two chastisers of foes announced their names and
touched his feet. Indeed, those high-souled ones also touched the feet of
Gandhari and Pritha and king Yudhishthira the Just, and Bhima. Embracing
Vidura also, they enquired after his welfare. In the company of all those
persons, Arjuna and Krishna then approached king Dhritarashtra (again).
Night came and then king Dhritarashtra of great intelligence dismissed
all those perpetuators of Kuru's race as also Janarddana for retiring to
their respective chambers. Permitted by the king all of them entered
their respective apartments. Krishna of great energy proceeded to the
apartments of Dhananjaya. Worshipped duly and furnished with every object
of comfort and enjoyment, Krishna of great intelligence passed the night
in happy sleep with Dhananjaya as his companion. When the night passed
away and morning came, the two heroes, finishing their morning rites and
dealing their persons properly, proceeded to the mansion of king
Yudhishthira the just. There Yudhishthira the just, of great might, sat
with his ministers. The two high-souled ones, entering that well-adorned
chamber, beheld king Yudhishthira the just like the two Aswins beholding
the chief of the celestials. Meeting the king, he of Vrishni's race as
also that foremost hero of Kuru's race, obtaining the permission of
Yudhishthira who was highly pleased with them, sat themselves down. Then
the king, gifted with great intelligence, seeing those two friends,
became desirous of addressing them. Soon that best of monarchs, that
foremost of speakers addressed them in the following words.'
"Yudhishthira said, 'Ye heroes, ye foremost ones of Yadu's and Kuru's
race, it seems that ye two are desirous of saying something to me. Do ye
say what is in your mind. I shall soon accomplish it. Do not hesitate.'
"Thus addressed, Phalguna, well conversant with speech, humbly approached
king Yudhishthira the just and then said these words.--'Vasudeva here, of
great prowess, O king, is long absent from home. He desires, with thy
permission, to see his sire. Let him go, if thou thinkest it meet, to the
city of the Anarttas. It behoveth thee; O hero, to grant him permission!'
"Yudhishthira said, 'O lotus-eyed one, blessed be thou. O slayer of
Madhu, do thou go this very day to the city of Dwaravati for seeing, O
puissant one, that foremost one of Sura's race. O mighty-armed Kesava,
thy departure is approved by me. Thou hast not seen my maternal uncle as
also the goddess Devaki, for a long time. Meeting my maternal uncle and
repairing to Valadeva also, O giver of honours, thou wilt, O thou of
great wisdom, worship both of them at my word as they deserve.[166] Do
thou also think of me daily as also of Bhima, that foremost of mighty
men, and of Phalguna and Nakula and Sahadeva, O giver of honours. Having
seen the Anarttas, and thy sire, O mighty-armed one, and the Vrishnis,
thou wilt come back to my horse-sacrifice, O sinless one. Do thou then
depart, taking with thee diverse kinds of gems and various sorts of
wealth. Do thou, O hero of the Satwata race, also take with thee whatever
else thou likest. It is through thy grace, O Kesava, that the whole
Earth, O hero, has come under our dominion and all our foes have been
slain.'
When king Yudhishthira the just of Kuru's race said so, Vasudeva, that
foremost of men, said these words (in reply).
"Vasudeva said, 'O mighty-armed one, all jewels and gems, all wealth, and
the entire Earth, are thine and thine alone. Whatever wealth exists in
my, abode, thou, O lord, art always the owner thereof.' Unto him
Yudhishthira, the son of Dharma, said,--'Be it so'--and then duly
worshipped (Krishna) the eldest brother, endued with great energy, of
Gada. Vasudeva then proceeded to his paternal aunt (Kunti). Duly
honouring her, he circumambulated her person. He was properly accosted by
her in return, and then by all the others having Vidura for their first.
The four-armed eldest brother of Gada then set out from Nagapura on his
excellent car.[167] Placing his sister, the lady Subhadra, on the car,
the mighty-armed Janarddana then, with the permission of both
Yudhishthira and (Kunti) his paternal aunt, set out, accompanied by a
large train of citizens. The hero who had the foremost of apes on his
banner, as also Satyaki, and the two sons of Madravati, and Vidura of
immeasurable intelligence, and Bhima himself whose tread resembled that
of a prince of elephants, all followed Madhava. Janarddana of mighty
energy causing all those extenders of the Kuru kingdom and Vidura also to
return, addressed Daraka, and Satyaki, saying,--'Urge the steeds to
speed.' Then that grinder of hostile masses, viz., Janarddana of great
prowess, accompanied by Satyaki, the foremost one of Sini's race,
proceeded to the city of the Anarttas, after having slain all his foes,
like He of a hundred sacrifices proceeding to Heaven (after slaughtering
all his foes).'
